Asa Eugene Farrington

Former Durango resident Asa Eugene Farrington died of a massive stroke Friday, Dec. 7, 2012, in Englewood. He was 66.

Mr. Farrington was born to Edmund Ray and Rose Irene (Frickel) on March 7, 1946, in Greeley. He grew up in Windsor and graduated from Windsor High School in 1965.

From 1966 to 1976, he served in the Navy on an Underwater Demolitions Team, the precursor to the Navy SEALs, including more than one tour in the Vietnam War. Mr. Farrington was awarded a Purple Heart, Navy Achievement Medal with Combat (V) and Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze stars. He held the rank of petty officer first class at the time of his honorable discharge.

His family said Mr. Farrington was proud that his two sons from his first wife, Barbara, followed his example and joined the military. His son, Ed Farrington, is currently a senior chief in the Navy, and his son, Kelly Farrington, was a career Marine.

On Aug. 26, 1983, he married Donna Jeanne Coulter at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Durango.

Mr. Farrington attended college for a few semesters after his military service before founding a landscape business in the Denver/Fort Collins area. In April 1983, he moved to Durango to begin a 28-year career as an engineer with the Colorado Department of Transportation.

His first project was the first U.S. Highway 550/160 corridor through Bodo Industrial Park in 1983, and he also was involved in repaving it in concrete. Mr. Farrington also worked on Highway 160 as it becomes Main Street in Cortez, the widening of 160 over Wolf Creek and road projects all over western Colorado. He was most proud of his various modifications to Interstate 70 and the Road 24 roundabout in Grand Junction, where he was transferred about seven years ago.

After his retirement in 2011, Mr. Farrington began volunteering at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Grand Junction. He also enjoyed fishing, landscaping and gardening.

Mr. Farrington is survived by his wife of 29 years, Donna Farrington, of Grand Junction; sons Ed Farrington of California, Md., and Kelly Farrington of New Bern, N.C.; sister, Carolyn Farrington, of San Diego; and four grandchildren.

A graveside service with military honors will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery of Western Colorado, 2830 Riverside Parkway in Grand Junction. A reception will be held afterward at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3981, 503˝ Florence Road in Grand Junction.